End of Season

[billroper]

I headed down to Wrigley Field for the last regular season game, which is something that I like to do when there's no reason not to. (Conflicts occasionally arise, but not so much when the last home game is on a weekend.)

Lots of Cubs were getting rested, since the game didn't have any real effect on either team. There were some good plays, a lot of good pitching (or bad hitting), and the game went to extra innings tied 0-0.

At which point, the Cubs picked the Reds' ghost runner off second to start the bonus baseball festivities. I had never seen this happen before.

The Cubs then proceeded to do the most Cub thing possible and give up three runs in the top of the tenth, having eliminated the ghost runner before throwing a pitch. The Cubs got the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the tenth, but that's as far as things went on the way to a 3-0 Reds win.

But it was fun, the conversation was good, and the weather didn't suck, which was a major improvement over a lot of late season games that I've been to.

Meanwhile, the Cards beat the Giants to finish up the season tied with the Cubs. I guess the Cubs officially finished ahead of the Cardinals, because the Cubs won the season series. Given the amount of annoyance the absence of tie-breaker games is about to be in the NL wild card race, I think I'll just call this "tied for second" and be happy that it doesn't affect anything except draft position. :)

Comments

[gorgeousgary]

Speaking of things one has never seen happen before, I am trying to figure out how the Baltimore Orioles finished the season with a 91-71 record while the Washington Nationals finished with a 71-91 record.

This would be essentially equivalent to the Cubs and White Sox, Mets and Yankees, or Dodgers and Angels achieving a similar feat. Noting the latter two appear to have come close...